Maize and wheat are the main cereals grown in Egypt. However, the country relies on grain imports to meet its localdemands. In order to improve their production, appropriate fertilization programs are needed. The present studyinvestigates the effects of amending a clayey soil of an arid region with rice straw biochar and NPK mineral fertiliz ers, individually or in combination, for increasing growth and productivity of maize and wheat crops. Additionally,impacts of these additives on soil biological activities and carbon (C) transformations in soil were a matter of concernherein. To achieve this objective, a field research of a randomized block design was conducted during the summer(maize) and winter (wheat) seasons of 2020/2021. The following treatments were considered: unmodified control(CK), 100% N inputs in the form of biochar (reference organic treatment, RSB) (T1), 100% mineral treatment (referenceinorganic treatment, T2), 75% RSB + 25% NPK minerals (T3), 50% RSB + 50% NPK minerals (T4) and 25% RSB + 75% NPKminerals (T5). Additional doses of mineral fertilizers were added to treatments from T3 to T5 to maintain NPK inputswithin the recommended doses. Key results showed that all additives significantly enhanced plant growth param eters and productivity. They also increased soil organic carbon level by the end of the growing season hence reducedsoil bulk density, even for the treatment that received only mineral NPK applications (T2). All additives also upraisedsoil cation exchange capacity (CEC), soil available nitrogen (N), and soil salinity. However, sole application of bio char recorded the least increase in soil salinity. Combined mineral organic treatments not only recorded the high est increases in soluble and microbial fractions of organic carbon and nitrogen in soil; but also noted the greatestimprovements in growth and grain productivity of maize and wheat versus sole applications of mineral fertilizersor biochar. The alkaline nature of biochar was buffered by soil while no significant differences were observed in harvest index among treatments. In conclusion, combined use of biochar and mineral fertilizers, especially T5 is recommended for increasing soil fertility and wheat and maize grain productvity |
